Days 4 & 5

I've been waiting for some big news to post about before I did another update, but it doesn't seem like it's coming. Things with Kilun are good. He's been improving the last couple of days. Yesterday they continued to up his feeds of my milk, thus decreasing the other fluids they have been giving him. He has tolerated it well and has been able to keep up the digestion with the amount they are giving him. Unfortunately, my milk is not keeping up. I'm trying hard to keep on the pumping schedule, but it's not bringing anything in. I know I should really just give it a few days...I AM only 5 days post baby and it takes a few for the milk to come in. It's just frustrating when the amount they want to give him is twice as much as I make. The fact that he is going down on his fluids, though, is good news because the poor kid can not keep an IV to save his soul. He has been getting 2 a day because they just keep going bad. At this point they could probably take them all out, but he has 2 more days of antibiotics so he needs an IV for those. Tonight I stood by his bedside while they poked him 7 times trying to get a good IV. 6 of them blew, one is still working. My guess is, though, by tomorrow evening, it will no longer be good.

Today he came off the bili lights. He was having a hard time getting rid of the bili because he wasn't pooping. The pain med he was getting for the chest tube was slowing his bowels, so he hadn't pooped for 4 days. They were able to slow down the pain meds and sedation yesterday, only giving it twice, so his bowels have been moving again. He's probably pooped 7 or 8 times today and we cheer every time he does. It seems every thing is looking good except one...

The biggest thing I've been waiting for his getting his chest tube out. I'm starting to get very frustrated, and I'm sure Kilun is too. We were hoping that the tube would come out yesterday morning, but when I got here they said they saw a little sliver of air on the chest x-ray again, so just to be safe, they were going to leave it all day and do another x-ray this morning. They did another x-ray this morning, I wasn't told what they saw on it, but during rounds they decided to turn off the suction and do another x-ray at 6 tonight. The x-ray was done and the NNP (neonatal nurse practitioner) said it looked good and to keep in on water seal, which means keep it off but we're not taking it out. I was very frustrated by this because the DR this morning said that if it was good we'd take it out tonight, but then the NNP said not to. Our nurse today was great and I let her know my frustration. I'm hoping to be able to talk more to the nurse tonight and maybe get another opinion from the night NNP and get it out. As long as he has the chest tube in he can't be held, so I haven't been able to hold my baby for 4 days now. That's forever!! Since he hasn't been on so much sedation the last couple of days, Kilun has started waking up more and the poor guy just wants to be held. He can't really be moved because of the tube and has pretty much been in the same position since Saturday. He been starting to root, but of course I can't nurse him, again, due to the tube.

Aside from the tube, everything looks great. So, everyone cross your fingers, toes, legs, and anything else that can be crossed, and pray, that we can get this tube out in hours, not days.